Jay Carney cashes in

Jay Carney just left the White House podium and he’s already joined the ranks of George W. Bush, Tom Brokaw and Mike Ditka in one profitable enterprise: lecturing on the private speaking circuit.

The former Obama administration flack signed on this month with the Washington Speakers Bureau, a gig that came with a signing bonus and is likely to yield payments as high as $100,000 per speech to share his personal presidential anecdotes and analysis of the next two election cycles.

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As the most recent high-profile person out the West Wing door, Carney can expect to be in high demand with the universities, corporations and trade associations — the public and private institutions willing to pay for what has become the standard first move of high-ranking outgoing administration officials.

Giving speeches is a nice job, one that will help with the bills and keep him in the public eye while giving the 49-year old former Time Magazine Washington bureau chief additional time to weigh a slew of offers for his next career step, which range from a slot with one of the networks to Silicon Valley to joining PR and consulting firms.

Carney confirmed in an interview his arrival on the speaker circuit, adding that he also would maintain a public presence with cable and network TV hits. He said he had no immediate plans to write a book and declined comment on salary figures and other job offers.

“I’m just talking to a lot of people about a bunch of potentially interesting things,” Carney said. “I’m just having conversations.”

Like other former senior administration staffers, Carney has been navigating the jolt from hectic White House back to private life with the help of Washington super lawyer Robert Barnett.

“He knew how everything worked,” said President George W. Bush’s first spokesman, Ari Fleischer, recalling visits with Barnett to all of the major New York publishing houses before holding an auction that reportedly led to a $500,000 advance on his book, ‘Taking Heat.’

Carney’s unlikely to make a big career decision in the imminent future — the types of jobs he is considering often mean a move to corporate headquarters in other cities, a challenge for the Northern Virginia native with two young kids.

White House veterans and Washington headhunters say Carney is likely to command a first year compensation package of around $1.5 million if he goes into the corporate arena or joins a consulting firm. But that formula would be significantly different if he decides to join a start-up — an article posted Monday by the tech news site Recode said the car service Uber was interested in Carney — that offers less cash up front but with the prospect of a highly profitable stock option.

“With tech companies, it’s all about stock,” former Bill Clinton White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. He declined to discuss the details of his own Facebook pay package – he spent 15 months there over 2011 and 2012 — before returning to the media relations and political strategy firm Glover Park Group that he co-founded.

“It all depends on where the stock goes,” Lockhart said. “There’s an element of risk. You can go to the Acme app company and you can think it was great and it turns out to be Myspace.”

Veteran Washington headhunter Nels Olson said Carney will have plenty of opportunities in the corporate and consulting world.

“He’ll mull those over either with counsel or on his own. I’m sure the phone is ringing for him,” Olson said.

While Carney is certainly a hot commodity, his lack of corporate experience is one factor that could turn off companies interested in hiring him to run their corporate public affairs. It’s also unlikely that he would register to lobby, which limits the number of firms who are interested in adding him to their roster. But several Washington veterans said Carney could be a good candidate to be the face of a public affairs firm or a law firm that is looking to build out a PR practice.

Carney also will be an attractive job candidate to return to his journalism roots as a television contributor or in editorial management. In nearly every new job scenario, he’ll easily best his $172,200 annual White House salary.

“He brings a lot to the table,” said Bob Franken, a former CNN correspondent. “I’d venture to say he’s not going to be starving.”

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, a CNN and ABC News contributor, said that Carney’s next steps will be an outgrowth of his professional achievements.

“Jay had a great career in journalism before transitioning to the White House. Whatever he decides to do, I am sure it will keep him in the spotlight,” she wrote in an email. “Honestly, former athletes become sports analyst. Now, Jay can pick up where his career was leading him.”

Carney’s arrival on the speaking circuit is no surprise for someone who just served in the West Wing. He met with all of the major firms before signing on with the Washington Speakers Bureau, which also represents his wife, ABC newswoman Claire Shipman and promotes his picture prominently on its main website while noting in his bio that he “faced the world and White House press corps each day with characteristic grace, wit and aplomb.”

“Perhaps no one is better equipped to survey today’s current events both at home and abroad than Jay Carney,” said his bio, which is sandwiched between Tucker Carlson and futurist Jim Carroll. “With his tenure at the White House and a long, well-respected career at TIME magazine spanning the globe from Russia to Washington, D.C., Carney’s collegial personality and working relationships with those on both sides of the aisle allow him to share with audiences a unique view of our world today.”